City gravel

Pharmacy name: urban gravilate root – Gei uibani radix (formerly: Radix Gei urbani), urban gravilate herb – Gei urbani herba (formerly: Herba Gei urbani).

Botanical description. This perennial plant with a dark-colored stem can reach different heights depending on the habitat – from 25 to 135 cm. It has a thick rhizome (5-7 cm long and 1-2 cm thick), which sometimes branches. Basal leaves with short petioles form a rosette; stem – ternary, coarsely serrate, with hairy pubescence. The flowers are light yellow, one on a long, erect peduncle and hardly more than 6 mm in diameter. Blooms from May to October. Occurs in light forests and bushes, near hedges and walls.

Collection and preparation. They collect mainly the rhizome, less often – the entire aerial part of the plant. Both are taken at the beginning of flowering, that is, in May. The rhizome is freed from the remnants of the earth and dried in the air. Flowering grass is cut close to the ground and hung out to dry in a ventilated shaded area.

Active ingredients: essential oil (eugenol), tannins and bitterness.

Healing action and application. Essential oil and bitterness make gravilate a good tonic, and the high content of tannins in the rhizome – a broad-spectrum astringent. They can fight with diarrhea, and with inflammation of the mouth and pharynx, and with fainting, and with hemorrhoids, and with trophic ulcers. The herb, which is now almost not consumed, is significantly inferior in its action to the rhizome. They mainly use tea, which is used to gargle or wash the throat; in addition, the decoction is suitable for compresses, and inside against disorders of the gastrointestinal activity.

  • Gravilat tea: 1 teaspoon with the top of dry rhizome, pour 1/4 liter of boiling water and leave for 15 minutes. Then strain. Dosage: 2-3 cups of tea every day.

Application in folk medicine. In folk medicine, gravilate is considered a strong tonic, and it is used in the same cases as indicated above. There is no reason to fear side effects. Due to the large amount of tannins, it is only necessary to avoid overdosing.